updated 10:45 am EST, Fri November 16, 2012

Report dismisses claims of imminent arrival

Apple has indeed been talking with "a few large cable operators" about a new TV product, says AllThingsD. The information comes from anonymous sources, reached in response to a recent investor memo from Jefferies & Co. analyst James Kisner. Kisner claims that at least one big cable operator is running tests to determine if it can handle the bandwidth an Apple HDTV might require. He suggests that this could point to "an imminent launch," but AllThingsD disputes the claim.

The site points out that in talking to analysts, Apple has downplayed the idea of having anything to say about a TV product in the near future. It's also thought that if Apple were close to launching something, it would probably be in touch with TV programmers, and there allegedly hasn't been any developments along those lines. The site does comment, though, that it would make sense for a cable operator to be testing capacity.

The Wall Street Journal claimed that Apple was in talks with cable operators in August, but it's not clear if any progress has been made. Recently Time Warner Cable COO Rob Marcus said that his company would consider selling subscriptions through third-party technology, even if that meant giving up control of the interface; it's believed that he was hinting about Apple.

I am so ready for Big Cable to catch up to the times and forfeit their archaic business model. I've been happy without cable for a few years now but would love an opportunity to pay a la carte for the shows/programming that I wanted.